I Am Who I Want To Be
by Karliah357
Summary: Azalea is a woman with an unknown past who purchases a ranch on Sunshine Islands. Passing herself off as an experienced farmer when she is anything but, she must keep up the façade as she makes friends, finds love, and saves the sunken islands. With trouble brewing on the horizon and her true reason for being on the islands coming to the surface, will she be able to stay, or leave?
1. Prologue

The sound of the ship's horn startles the young girl awake, making her spring up in bed. Running her hands over her face she laments the sudden loss of the wonderful dream she was having. Moving to the edge of the bed she throws her leg out, not realizing the sheet was still tangled around her, and promptly flopped face first onto the ground. Groaning she rises to her knees and rubs her hand over her sore chin.

"I hope this isn't an indicator of how the rest of my day will go…"

Within minutes she is dressed, sporting a short sleeve button up over a longer sleeved yellow shirt with knee length denim capris and red boots. Snatching her red bandana off the bed she ties it securely around her long, light brown hair. She stares into the mirror in her little room on the ship and flexes, opening her ocean blue eyes wide and making a ridiculous face. Standing back she smiles normally and, pleased with her appearance, slings her backpack onto her shoulders and strolls out of the room.

On the deck she is hit by the sound of waves and the smell of the sea, a mixture of salted breeze and the telltale smell of fish. This is when the giddy feeling hits; she really did it! She'd renounced her home and come to live as a humble farmer on an island hours away from the nearest city. For a split second she feels terrified, but forces that feeling away and thinks of her dream.

The dream of HER farm, the one SHE bought and that SHE will run. A farm filled with delicious crops and happy animals that she plans to raise. The place that will be her home from now on.

Head held high she approaches the front of the ship, the last person left on this passenger freight that isn't a part of the crew. The islands are the last stop for the captain before they head back to the city.

The captain in question places a hand on her shoulder with a grin, gesturing to the island coming into view.

"Welcome to the Sunshine Islands, and island chain that is brimming with life! Some say the islands are not everything they once were, though."

"What do you mean?"

"Many years ago, a great disaster befell the islands. The people who live there now have been trying to restore the place, but much of the land now rests beneath the waves. There isn't as much left to work with."

He slaps a hand on her back and lets out a hearty laugh.

"You must be a great farming prospect for them to give you what's left of the place!"

Her face falls. Maybe she is a bit in over her head. There's no time to freak out yet, though. The ship is docking.


	2. Trick of the Trade

Walking out of the house she lets out an irritated groan. She'd really expected the farm to be…well, more. In comparison to the town her little house looked like a shack.

"At least the island is beautiful. The sun is warm; the ocean breeze is cool, heck I'll be spending most of my time outside anyway."

She was starting to feel happy about this place again. It may be a bit run down and underdeveloped, but it was hers. She dumped all the stuff she'd gotten from the ship on the ground by the door, determined to use this as the trash pile until she finished unboxing the rest of her things. She already had a couple of empty cardboard boxes stacked beside it.

Taro finally rounded the corner, calling out to her.

"Hello! I hope you haven't been waiting long!"

She technically had been, but she'd spent the time unpacking so it hadn't been too bad.

"How's the new house? It's a little small, but it should be fine for a beginning rancher. You're not the only new resident on the Sunshine Islands, you know. The whole town is new! These islands are ripe with promise and possibilities. Anyway, you should go meet everybody!"

He started to walk off, but turned around with a laugh.

"I'm sorry, I never asked for your name! It was smeared on your application."

"My name? Right my name…It's, ah…"

Glancing sideways she spotted the guide pamphlet on the ground with the rest of the stuff from the boat she didn't need anymore. Her eyes met a flower on the front page.

"Azalea! My name is Azalea."

"Sorry I didn't ask sooner, I was a little too excited."

Truthfully, she couldn't remember which name she'd put on the application anyway. It's probably a good thing she got a do-over.

After that Taro called over some people to meet her. He introduced her to Mirabelle, Chen, and Gannon. They all stood around speaking for a while, mostly about prices and other people living on the island.

Mirabelle clapped her hands together with a pleasant smile, obviously pleased with the new farmer.

"Oh we were starting to lose hope anyone would buy this place! You are the only potential buyer we've had in months! We couldn't get any experienced farmers to come farm on this island if we bribed them. Thank you for coming to help us!"

Azalea smiled, but on the inside she was worried. She wasn't exactly…experienced…

Chen agreed with the older woman.

"Yes, it is wonderful finally having another new resident. Welcome!"

"I'm impressed she's startin' up a farm on her own like this."

She turned to Gannon, who was scrutinizing her. It was taking all her effort to remain composed.

 _If they see through me now I'm so screwed…I can do this, I know I can!_

"Ya ever need anything, gimme a holler!"

 _Thank the Goddess he's nice like the other two…_

They spoke some more, Gannon pointing out places he could build things if she needed them and Mirabelle telling her about how she HAD to get her first cow from her so she could commemorate the occasion with Azalea. The conversation went on so long she started to feel like running inside and hiding in her room. These people had way more faith in her than she thought they would…

Eventually everyone left, leaving her with Taro. He turned to her with a grin and stamped his cane in the ground a couple times.

"I've got a good feeling about these islands! I bet we could make a good life here. I started a shipping business, so I'll sell whatever you grow here for you. If we work together we can really make this place a great farm!"

"Yessir."

"Now I'm sure you have plenty of experience with farm work, but I'd like to see your form."

 _No no no no no!_

"Of course."

"I'm sorry we don't have newer tools, but after getting the place fixed up and ready for the move in day we were a little starved for time. Here, I used to be a farmer but I can't work the land anymore."

He handed her a set of old tools and she forced herself to take them without hesitation.

 _This can't be THAT hard, right?_

Holding the hoe in her hands she selected a space in her open field and gave the place one last glance over. Someone had already mostly cleared the fields of debris, though there was the occasional weed and boulder or stump here and there.

As she held the handle she realized the overused tool would be her saving grace.

There were hand indentions on it from use. She moved her own hands over the places where the existing marks were and Taro smiled that happy old-man smile.

"Great form! Now show me how to plow a field!"

She struck the soil, breaking it apart and turning up the topsoil. She moved with determination, plowing a decent area and looking up to make sure it was satisfactory. Taro seemed pretty pleased with her work.

"Great job! I brought you some seeds to start out with."

She took the bag and sprinkled them around the plowed soil, being careful not to put too many in one section of land. Hauling the watering can over to the spring she filled it and watered the soil with the mentality that it was like a house plant. Don't overfill the pot, don't overwater the crops. Same thing, right?

She finished up with the planting, sweat pouring off of her face. Was it already sundown? She just started!

"Hah! I told them you were a pro. I'll be here at 5 pm each day to check and see what you have to ship. Good luck! I'll personally check up on you again in four or five days. Go look at the town tomorrow when you get the chance, there are a lot of people you haven't met yet."

Taro waved, leaving back across the bridge to town. Azalea made it two steps into her house before collapsing onto her floor into a sweaty mess.

"My arms feel like jelly, what the hell am I doing out here?"

Hauling herself up she stumbled over to her dresser to locate clothing that didn't smell like a sauna full of old men. She bumped into it by accident and heard something that must have been stuck behind the dresser fall to the ground.

Reaching around the dresser with a groan she grasped weakly for the object. Pulling back her hand she discovered a large, string-bound notebook covered in dust. The green cover was tearing slightly and had MARK scrawled across it. Opening it she realized it was a book on crops. How well they grew in this soil, how long they needed to grow, how often each type of crop needed water and sun, everything.

"Mark, whoever you are, you just saved my nonexistent farming career."

She spent the next few hours memorizing everything she could about spring produce and plants.

This had to keep going well at this rate, right?


	3. Kitchen Chaos

Leaving her ranch the next morning she decided to investigate the town. Now that the soil was already tilled, it took much less of her stamina to maintain. Today her goal is to acquire more seeds and till even more land for planting, though her arms were still protesting any kind of movement she could manage.

Walking straight down the path she looked around, curious as to what the island's had to offer. She realized someone was calling out but didn't recognize the name.

"Azalea!"

 _Who-WAIT THAT'S MY NAME!_

Spinning on her heel she spotted Mirabelle standing in front of the building a door down from right of the bridge leading to her farm.

"H-Hey! Good morning!"

"I called you three times; did you have your head up in the clouds?"

She laughed wholeheartedly, and Azalea was thankful she'd brushed the incident off like that. She needed to make sure forgetting her own name wasn't going to be a habit.

"Come in, come in! I want you to meet my daughter!"

Inside Azalea was greeted by a…smell. One so bad she could actually taste it when she breathed in through her mouth.

"…Is that smoke?"

A woman who looked to be about her own age in daisy duke shorts and a short, tied top with cowboy boots came running out of the kitchen with a pan on fire.

"OUT OF THE WAY!"

Stunned and running on instinct Azalea snatched the pan from her. Ripping her bandana off of her head she dropped it on top of the fire to smother it, leaving two fairly shocked individuals staring at the smoldering pan.

Azalea looked up and a beat of silence passed between.

"You, uh, cooking fires should be smothered. Don't run with them because…the air…makes a bigger fire…"

They all stared at each other awkwardly for a moment before Mirabelle finally started laughing. After that it wasn't long before the two girls were cracking up as well.

"Julia! You could have burned down the house!"

"Oh my GODDESS I burned FRENCH BREAD and set it on fire, how sad is that?"

"How the heck did you set WET BREAD on fire?"

"Oh! Your bandana! It's burned!"

"I have more at home, it's no biggie."

The three of them degraded into giggled, Azalea still holding the cooling pan. The door to the shop opened.

They all turned to see a man walk inside the shop. Adorned in a cowboy style the man affixed his light gray-purple eyes on Azalea. Tipping his hat slightly his gray hair fluttered as the door closed behind him and he addressed Azalea.

"You're the lady running the ranch, huh? I'm Vaughn. I'll be transporting any animals you order or sell to and from the islands."

Before Azalea could say anything he'd already brushed past her and started telling Mirabelle about the shipment.

She leaned to Julia, whispering under their breath as they spoke.

"Who is that?"

"That's Vaughn. He works for my mom."

"He introduced himself and then gave me the cold shoulder."

"That's just how he is, don't let it offend you."

"How he is?"

"He's blunt as all get out and has no time for anyone. We both love him, don't get me wrong, but he can be a little hard to get along with."

"Is he your brother?"

"No, if he was he'd have gorgeous blonde hair like mine."

Julia wiggled her shoulders and shot Azalea a cheesy grin as they both stifled a laugh. Vaughn turned to look at the two of them, though "look" could translate more as "glare."

"…"

"…"

 _He isn't saying anything…_

"…bye…"

Turning he walked down a hall and into a room in the back without another word. Mirabelle didn't apologize for his behavior, though after what Julia said to her she didn't really blame her. You can't apologize for someone's personality.

"Anyway, sorry for the interruption…and the fire. Thank you for that by the way, I wasn't expecting to step outside for two minutes and come back to my utensils in flames."

Julia laughed awkwardly, tucking away a stray hair.

"I'm uh…not a very good cook."

Azalea spent a few more minutes looking at livestock prices and just chatting in general before she decided to head out. She appreciated making a friend her own age this early in her living on the islands.

Opening the door she felt it collide with something, making her pause. Stepping out from around the door she encountered a man on the ground clutching his face.

She let the door drift closed behind her as she got down next the guy she'd just sucker punched with a giant piece of wood. She picked his glasses up off the ground and attempted to assist the pink haired man.

"Are you ok?"

"Ib fid, tink ew."

"…What?"

"Ib fid! Dow burry!"

"Er…Where do you live?"

He pointed across the way to the first house on the left. Standing him up Azalea took his arm and guided him to his abode.


	4. Awkward Family Moments

Azalea tapped on the door while the guy leaned his head back in an effort to quell the intense door-induced nosebleed. She was fairly surprised when Taro answered it.

"Azalea! Welcome to my-ELLIOT WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE?!"

 _Did he have to belong to THIS FAMILY?_

"I…kind of hit him with a door coming out of Mirabelle's shop…"

Taro groaned and tugged Elliot inside, calling out as he went.

"FELICIA! YOUR BOY IS HURT AGAIN!"

An older, soft-spoken woman rounds the corner drying her hands on a towel.

"Sweetie? Are you alright?"

"Ib fid."

"No, you are not fine. Let me take a look at it."

After some poking and prodding at his bloodied face she seemed to come to the conclusion that his nose wasn't broken. A girl that looked a few years younger than Azalea then came out of the kitchen with a baggy of ice.

"Yo, klutz, here's your ice pack."

He takes it and presses it against his face with a sigh.

"Thanks."

"You have got to stop introducing your face to doors."

"Ugh…Natalie!"

"Oh stop whining before you drop the ice."

In all the confusion, it takes Azalea a moment to realize something rather short is standing beside her tugging on her pants. Looking down she makes eye contact with a toddler.

The little boy has wild blonde hair going in every direction and huge, sparkling green eyes.

"Who you?"

"My name is Azalea, what's yours?"

"Zalea! Pretty!"

He grins broadly, revealing a mouth missing a front tooth. Bouncing past her he runs up to Elliot and tugs on his shirt.

"Elli? Elli!"

Natalie reaches down and scoops the boy up, tickling his belly and making him giggle.

"Come on Wyatt, let's leave Elliot to his nose."

"Akay!"

Natalie takes a second to smile and wave at Azalea, but then disappears out the back. Taro is busy chastising Elliot for being so clumsy, so she turns awkwardly to Felicia.

"So…nice to meet you?"

"Yes, it is very nice to meet you. I'm Felicia, this is my father and son, and my daughter is the one who just left the room."

"Is the toddler yours as well?"

Before Felicia can reply Taro is back up pacing back and forth and waving his cane around.

"LIKE HELL HE IS! THAT NO GOOD BOY, IF I SEE HIM I'LL KILL HIM!"

"Er-"

"THE NERVE OF THAT BOY! HE CRASHES ON THIS ISLAND WITH US, HELPS US BUILD THIS PLACE INTO A FLURISHING TOWN, GETS MY GRANDAUGHTER PREGNANT, AND THEN VANISHES! FREAKING VANISHES! FOR THREE YEARS!"

He continues ranting as Felicia smiles apologetically down at Azalea. It's at this point Natalie renters the room.

"Grandpa! You're going to scare Wyatt! I just got him settled to play in his room."

In the usual angry old man fashion, he lowers his volume but continues muttering.

"No good piece'a hrmhrmhrm…if I see him hrmhrmhrm…"

"Gramps. Mark probably has a good reason for being gone so long. I still love him, and we're going to welcome him back when he gets here…right Gramps?"

"A GOOD REASON?!"

"Shhhhhh!"

"FOR ABANDONING HIS SON FOR THREE YEARS?!"

"SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Felicia steps in, placing a hand on her father's shoulder.

"Now now, dad, getting this worked up is bad for your health. We have a guest over too, don't you think you should calm back down? Please?"

Taro looks slowly over at Azalea with a guilty expression.

"O-Of course! I am always calm and collected!"

"Of course, dad. Now, why don't you tell me what you'd like to have for dinner tonight?"

They exit the room, leaving Azalea and a still-bleeding Elliot alone. Feeling as though she'd officially worn out her welcome, she leaves the house and quietly shuts the door behind her.

 _That was incredibly awkward…_

Heading over to her original destination, she walks into the general store hoping nothing else too extreme happens today day. After purchasing more seeds she heads back to her farm to plant them.

It takes her a while to till land for the new seeds, especially since her arms are practically useless after the previous day. By the time she's finished the planting and watering she feels like just lying on the ground and taking a nap.

"Hey!"

Turning to look behind her she sees a darker skinned man approaching her, chocolate colored hair spilling out from under his bandana as he jogs across to where her fields begin.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm Denny! I wanted to come introduce myself so I didn't look like a criminal!"

"…What?"

"Your island is the closest to the island where the old lighthouse used to be!"

He pointed towards the east, and she followed his finger with her eyes. Sure enough she could see the ruins of an old lighthouse on its own island nearby.

"That's the main reason boats can't stop here at night, only during the day."

"…Nobody ever crashed into this island?"

"Hmm…I don't think so."

"…I see…"

"Anyway! I'm here because I've been fishing off of that island and I left some of my nets over on it. I won't fish on it anymore since you live here now, but I need to grab them. I'll be out of your hair shortly!"

He sprints off, leaving a very confused Azalea standing over her newly planted crops.

"I'm not sure if I should be ok with that being the most normal introduction I've had today or not."


	5. Past Transgressions

The next day found Azalea leisurely tending to her crops early in the morning, yawning as she moves across the rows. She's just finishing up as someone calls out to her as they enter her land.

"Good morning!"

She looks over to see Elliot crossing her land with a big brown bundle in his hands.

"I found this over by the bridge; I think it's a fishing net?"

"Oh, that must be Denny's. I'll take it to him once I finish with this last spot."

"A-Actually, I came to talk to you! If you aren't busy, I mean…"

"Yeah, sure! Come on in."

Leading him into her home, she shows him to one of her lone chairs and walks over to a cooler against the wall.

"Sorry, all I have is green tea and water right now. What would you like?"

"O-Oh, um, water. Please."

She hands him a bottle and takes one herself, sipping the cold contents as she takes a seat across from him.

"So that's where our cooler went."

"I'm sorry, Taro said I could borrow it until I could put in an order for a fridge…"

"N-No! It's perfectly fine, we only use it for festivals anyway. I'm glad you're getting some use out of it."

He drinks his water awkwardly while Azalea patiently waits. Once he seems to have worked up enough courage, he speaks.

"I came over to shed some light on what happened yesterday."

"At your house? You don't have to, it's ok."

"No, you deserve to know the history of this town, and we're the history."

"If you want to tell me, I'm all ears."

Elliot takes a deep breath and seems to think for a moment before beginning his tale.

"My grandfather used to own a ranch on the mainland with my grandmother. My mother and father lived in the town with us. Back then, I was really little and Natalie was still an infant. I don't personally remember much. From what my mother told me, a disease started spreading in the town. We all lived out in the country, so we only had one doctor and the trip to the nearest hospital was at least a few hours. At first it seemed like a normal flu. Nearly half the town ended up sick, but then it got worse. Soon the clinic was overflowing with sick townspeople…including my grandmother and my father.

My mother says my father was clumsy like me, but had a big, generous heart. Every time the doctor came around he asked her to skip him and go on to someone else. By the time medicine and doctors made it in from the city, my father had succumbed to his illness without treatment of any kind. I feel like he helped save all those other people, though…by letting himself die, others got that time and help. As for my grandmother, her health already wasn't good and she was one of the first to die.

That tore up my grandfather. He was getting too old to run the ranch as it was and then he lost his wife and son-in-law. My mother had children to take care of and we were way too young to inherit the ranch from him. After everything started going back to normal, he sold the farm to one of his friends from the town and moved in with my mother.

He'd lost his fire. He'd become an old man sitting around ready for the end and my mother hated it. So, when we were teens, she told him that if he had a dream he needed to follow it. Now. He admitted he always wanted to find an underpopulated place and help develop it into a thriving town like the one we lived in. It didn't take much convincing for him to pack his bags and thrust us all into the unknown.

We searched around for a while looking for leads when a ship captain told us there were islands scattered around in the sea we might be interested in. We thought that sounded cool, living on an islands surrounded by water and all, so we boarded a ship to go look around.

We did a little island jumping here and there before it happened. The ship we were on sank, and we ended up washing ashore in our lifeboat on this island."

Pausing he chugged some water and then regained his momentum.

"That was when we found Mark. He was lying on the beach like a waterlogged cat sunning himself when we found him. We asked where he was heading and he said he was trying to do some traveling before settling into a job. My grandfather struck up a deal with him; help him establish a town trade by farming on the island and he'd establish a shipping company to help Mark make money while he lived in this new and undeveloped place. He agreed.

We all liked Mark, we really did. He was my best friend…my only friend for a while until we started making enough progress and pulling people in. Businesses opened, trade routes started, and Mark turned out to be a fantastic farmer. Thanks to him we made Sunshine Islands what it is today. He even named the place.

Everything went a little south after that. He'd been dating my sister, but apparently they were being a little too reckless and…well…you saw Wyatt. He looks just like his dad. My grandfather was furious. He may have owed the fulfillment of his dream to Mark's help, but he'd really crossed the line. It got kind of ugly there for a bit, especially since Nat was sixteen and Mark was only a couple days shy of being eighteen. It took the entire town to calm him down…and it didn't help they named their son after Mark's father…I think my grandfather felt a little betrayed."

"Ouch…"

"I know. Anyway, the spring Nat was pregnant he admitted he wanted to finish traveling around before settling in with her and getting married. She said that was fine, so he set the place up so all we had to do was run it: crops were planted, enough seeds for the year were stockpiled, and he made sure there was over a year worth of feed for all the animals. After Natalie gave birth, she reassured him they would be fine and he could go. The whole town saw him off.

The rest of spring went just fine. We harvested all of his crops, shipped them, and put the money aside for him when he returned. Things got kind of bad in summer…the weather was hotter than normal. My whole family tried to keep the crops going, but we weren't all that good at it. I messed up a lot…way too much…trampling seeds and over- or under-watering them. Nat had baby Wyatt, so she couldn't really help. My mother gets too overheated in summer so she couldn't help either, and my grandfather just isn't as young as he used to be. Summer was barren in terms of actual crops. The second disaster hit when Julia let out the chickens to graze late summer and…well, I'd forgotten to put the fall seeds away after dragging them out for a count. They ate them…all of them. Then we had to spend all of springs profit on new seeds.

It turned out to be a worthless endeavor. We couldn't get the fall stuff to grow at all, even with extra help. We didn't have the same expertise Mark had…we didn't know what we were doing at all! We didn't know anything about farming, it was a disaster! At least when winter came it was only a matter of keeping the animals happy…

Finally, spring came again. It was about time too, the animals were really stressed out from being cared for by various different people all year and I'm sure they missed Mark. We all did. The day he was supposed to come, back we decorated and prepared a welcome party.

We stayed out for hours. Eventually it got dark and no ships came. We thought maybe he was a little late, but…then a few weeks passed. When summer rolled around, the animals all started getting sick. We moved them to Mirabelle's shop, but there was no way she could take care of two cows, a sheep, and three chickens long-term. Natalie begged her to keep watching them, but she had a business to run and her own few animals to take care of. Having them all cramped up behind her house was cruel.

They agreed to wait until fall. Nat was certain he'd be back during the summer, but as every day passed, people were losing faith in him. Some people were angry, some sad, it was awful. Natalie never gave up on him, though, even when fall came and Mirabelle had to sell all of his animals. She gave Nat the money and she put it away for Wyatt.

By then, my sister was the only person left who believed Mark would come back. She used to tell Wyatt about his father, telling him they just had to wait a little bit longer to be a family. My grandfather always argued with her about that, but my mother knew it was for the best. Wyatt had just turned a year old and was turning two the next spring, he didn't need abandonment issues.

Anyway, winter came and went and my grandfather knew he had to do something. The economy of the island was tanking, we were surviving solely on tourism and even that was waning fast. He needed to save the island, so he put the farm up for sale.

Natalie was livid. They fought tooth and nail over that decision, but what else could we do? I wanted Mark back too-don't get me wrong, I'm really thankful you're here, Azalea. Everyone in town is, even Natalie, but back then that was all she had left of him other than Wyatt.

When she saw how bad things were getting, she let up on the subject. Mark needed an actual town to come back to after all. So we looked for experienced farmers willing to set up here.

Nobody wanted it. Experienced farmers had…you know; existing farms, and couldn't run both or didn't want to move to an island where land expansion was impossible. We had plenty of novices apply, but none of them fit the bill. Another year dragged on with the town chugging along as well as it could.

It was on the market an entire year before you bought it, Azalea. Thank you. We need you to set us back on track again."

"What do I do if Mark comes back?"

"I…I lost hope a long time ago that Mark will ever come back. Wherever he is, it must be his home now…I don't like thinking that and Natalie doesn't want to hear it, but it must be true. Why else would he abandon the town like that?"

"I…I don't know…"

"A-Anyway, I just…wanted you to know the background of this town so you'd understand why any future outbursts happen. I also wanted to make sure you heard it from me. I mean, everyone who lives here knows what happened, but some people are angrier than others at Mark. He isn't…wasn't…a bad guy. I really wish things hadn't turned out like they did, but that's in the past now. Besides, you're here now! We need to help you out so you can really get this place up and going again!"

Azalea nodded, a guilty feeling spreading in her stomach. She didn't know if she could fill in the hole left behind well enough to uplift the people…

"I'll do my best, I promise you that. No matter how hard it gets I will help make this farm what it used to be…maybe even better than it used to be."

Elliot smiled broadly, thanking her profusely before excusing himself and thanking her for the water. After he leaves Azalea continues to sit, her hands untangling the fishing net as she sits lost in thought.

 _I can do this. I have to do this. I want to help these people…I have to be that kind of person for them._


	6. Do Cows Bite?

"What do you want to eat?"

"Hmmm…"

Azalea leans back from her kitchen stove to glance over at Julia. The blonde is question is currently sprawled on Azalea's bed reading a magazine.

"You know I like anything with eggs in it as long as it doesn't have fish or mushrooms."

"Wow! That sounds exactly like a dish I know the recipe for!"

"Oh hush, I'll eat anything."

"Seriously though, you have to start giving me the names of actual dishes you want."

"But choosing what I want to eat is hard!"

"Oh for…"

After throwing some rice in a pot she cracks a few eggs in her skillet, preparing fried eggs over rice and joining her friend at the table.

"I was considering getting a house cat, but with you around? I already have one."

"I'm house cat?"

"Yeah, always in my way and eating all my food."

The two laugh, digging into their lunches. Ever since the two became friends Julia had been slowly integrating herself into Azalea's life. Nowadays it wasn't uncommon for her to show up on the farm demanding food and company or find herself in Azalea's chicken coop playing with the poultry. Some people would find that annoying, but for the two of them it worked just fine. Besides, it was better than being alone all morning doing the monotonous chores that needed to be done.

Julia pointed her spoon at Azalea before gesturing around the house.

"Girl, you did good this season. Everyone is really impressed."

"Half of the money came from fish, though…"

"But that doesn't matter! You make money, buy things in town, and BOOM! Economy!"

Rolling her eyes at her friend Azalea finishes her rice.

"But seriously, you doubled what Taro was expecting of you this early. It's been a good season."

When she had taken the fishing net back to Denny she'd found him repairing his remaining nets in his hut on the beach. She'd offered to help him finish up the repairs and the two had struck up a conversation about money. It turned out the two had one thing in common; money didn't matter to them. In truth, Azalea was working more for the betterment of the town than actual pocket change. Denny just liked to fish, and he understood her plight being in a new place and trying to build something up. He then suggested she start going fishing with him. At first she'd declined, not wanting to take anything from him, but he insisted. Eventually she agreed and the two have been going sailing three times a week in good weather to reel in what they can. The profits helped her vastly improve her home and chicken coop in half the time she would have needed with her crops alone. The two were hitting it off swimmingly and becoming fast friends as well.

It also helped everyone had been so charitable towards her. Gannon inspected the old coop and barn that were there from Mark for free, and even repaired the roof of one without charging her. Mirabelle had given her a free chick and for a couple weeks now had been trying to also give her a calf, though she'd declined multiple times with the excuse that livestock was too expensive to gift. Up until she expanded her home and bought a kitchen people frequently asked her out to eat as well, something she very much appreciated given the circumstances.

"You know…Vaughn is in town today."

"…ok? So?"

"You should go talk to him!"

"I don't know…I don't want to offend him or something."

"As long as you don't bring any carrots, you'll be fine."

"Carrots?"

"Just don't ever use carrots around him. He freaks."

"…Noted…"

"So come on! He brought the calves in; you have GOT to finally get one!"

Not wanting to admit she has no experience with cows at all, she eventually runs out of excuses and Julia tugs her along back to the shop.

Upon entering Mirabelle's face immediately lights into a sly I-knew-you'd-come-around grin.

"Welcome back dearie! Are you hear to look at the animals?"

"Y-Yes ma'am."

"Great! They're out back with Vaughn, go give them a look and pick the one you like best!"

Julia walks her out back behind the store where Mirabelle has a temporary holding pen as well as a small structure holding her own cow and a couple of hens. Leaning on the fence with his hat tipped back is Vaughn. He glances up from a calf and back at the girls as they approach.

"Hey Vaughn!"

"…Hello."

"Azalea is here to pick herself out a baby, aren't you?"

Desperately hiding her desire to run and never come out of her farmhouse again, Azalea merely nods and forces a smile. She has no idea what she's doing!

Julia flounces around the pen and over to a little crate full of newly hatched chicks, cooing at them. With nobody to hide behind anymore Azalea enters the holding pen and hesitates inside.

"…What are you waiting for?"

She looks over to see Vaughn staring at her. Realizing she probably looks kind of stupid just standing there, she starts approaching and looking over the baby animals.

She goes to pet one and it turns its head towards her, making her snap her hand back on instinct. The little white and black calf cocks it head at her and moos almost inquisitorially. Taking a breath to calm her nerves her strokes her hand across its head and the calf leans into her palm happily.

"I'll, uh, take this one."

After no reply she peaks over her shoulder at Vaughn. His eyebrows are furrowed for some reason, but he says nothing. Instead he walks over and slips a guide rope around the animal's neck and coaxes it out of the pen. It's at this point Julia perks up and looks over at them for the first time since they went back here.

"Done already?"

"Yeah."

"Ooooh good! Let's go in and see mom before you go, Vaughn will lead her around front for you."

Finally, after finishing the transaction and buying a brush she didn't know she needed but was happy Mirabelle already had out for her, she walked outside alone. There she finds Vaughn reclining against the wall with the calf beside him.

The two begin the trek back towards her farm together in silence. The only noise to be heard is that of the calf as it trudges along between them, hooves clicking on the wooden bridge as they go.

She leads the way to her barn, though it's a straight shot since she can't plant summer crops till tomorrow and the spring harvest was finished. On a side note, she won first place in the crop contest this year with her turnip.

They situate the calf in its new home, and Azalea fully expects Vaughn to just leave. Instead he waits for her to finish storing her reserve of fodder she purchased. When she turns around and sees him still standing there scrutinizing her, it sets off all of her panic sensors.

"…"

"…"

"Um…Can I help you?"

"You have no experience with livestock."

She feels her breath snag in her lungs and tries hard to maintain her composure as he speaks again.

"You should have said something."

Releasing her breath she finally makes eye contact with him for the first time.

"I have plenty of crop experience and the chickens were easy, but I didn't want to deface myself with the whole livestock thing."

It isn't _really_ a lie. By now she does have plenty of experience in the other regards. Technically.

"You know, if you ask, I'll teach you."

"H-Huh?"

He tips his hat to her and scratches the calf with his free hand.

"You don't have to worry about the whole reputation thing here. They aren't like that."

"I'd…I'd like some help learning, please."

"Ok. Meet me at Mirabelle's tomorrow."


	7. The Land of Milk and Curry

As promised, Azalea heads over to Mirabelle's store the next morning. Mirabelle welcomes her in and gestures towards the kitchen.

"Have you eaten breakfast? I made egg custard and there's plenty left."

"Thank you, but I've eaten. It smells delicious."

Vaughn walks in through the back door and tips his hat at Azalea.

"Ready?"

"Yes, thank you!"

"You two have fun!"

Mirabelle waves as the two disappear outside. Azalea walks by the holding pen occasionally reaching out to pet a calf that gets close enough. They reach the barn and Vaughn holds open the door for her.

"This is Elvira, Mirabelle's cow."

The much older animal turns slowly to great then, creaking along as it goes.

"Old Elvira is going on six years old. Mirabelle's had her almost as long as she's been on this island."

Azalea reaches up to pet the gentle giant, watching its eyes close as her hand glides across its head.

"She's so sweet."

"She's a kind old lady, I give her that. Some cows get temperamental as they age, but Elvira has been a graceful one."

Vaughn retrieves a milker from the shelf and hands it to Azalea. Reaching behind himself he grabs a stool from against the wall and places it next to Elvira.

"Sit."

She does just that, her body now in a low squat atop the stool. Vaughn kneels down beside her and begins point, explaining how the milking process works to her. It isn't extremely complicated, but Azalea recognizes this isn't something she would have known right off the bat.

"Now move like this."

Maneuvering behind her he reaches around and puts his hands on the back of hers to guide them along. Azalea can feel the brim of his cowboy hat sitting atop her own head and his arms occasionally grazing hers, though he keeps a respectful distance from her at all times. Being the awkward lady she is she desperately hopes her face isn't red.

"This isn't so bad…"

"Just takes a little instruction."

He moves away from her and leans back on his heels.

"Take it from here."

Determined she takes on the job, working through all the steps she just learned. By the time she's done she has a full bucket and a triumphant look about her.

"Done!"

Vaughn leans over her shoulder to inspect the pail. Seemingly satisfied with her work he stands, joints popping loudly as he goes. After stretching out his legs he retrieves the milk laden container from her.

 _Was he crouched like that the whole time?_

"I should give this to Mirabelle."

He turns to leave, but stops halfway and turns back around.

"Holler at me when you buy a sheep."

With that he exits the barn, leaving Azalea slightly dumbstruck with a snoring Elvira.

 _Does that mean I'm getting a second lesson?_

After collecting her thoughts she leaves, thanking Mirabelle for the use of her cow. Outside she spots Elliot cleaning the windows of his home. Due to the fact she usually meets with Taro to make sure everything is going smoothly in terms of supply and demand, Azalea has made a friend in Elliot. Over that time, however, she has also noticed Elliot is not living a happy life. Today is no exception.

"Whatcha doin?"

"I made a mistake yesterday. I'm cleaning the entire house as punishment."

"Yikes…what did you do?"

"I knocked over the shipping crate while sweeping and spilled all the cans of curry powder Chen ordered…"

"That isn't too terrible-"

"One exploded and covered the entire storehouse in curry powder…"

"Ok that is pretty bad, but not too-"

"Wyatt slipped in it…"

"…was it a funny slip or sad slip?"

"He cried…"

"Sad slip it is…Elliot, do you want some help?"

He turns away from the window, his eyes as a big as saucers.

"I-I couldn't ask that of you!"

"I'm not busy. My crops are still seeds and they're pretty low maintenance right now."

"Aren't you meeting Denny today?"

"Not till after lunch. You may as well accept cause I'll argue with you until you let me help you out."

Elliot hangs his head, laughing softly.

"You're too nice, Azalea…"

"Yeah you say that. Now come on, I was wondering why your backyard smelled like curry."

The two tackle the storehouse and clean out the powder in record time. Upon finishing they collapse on the soft grass of the family yard in a puddle of curry scented sweat.

"My lungs burn!"

"I told you to pull your shirt over your face."

"This is how I die? From curry inhalation?"

The two break into raspy laughs, the sun beating down on them.

"Hey…Azalea?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you. For everything."

Lulling her head to the side to look at him she sees his eyes are closed, face basking in the heat of the summer sun.

"You know, things have been rough for the last few years. Ever since Mark disappeared the house has been so tense. My grandfather is so focused on the town he doesn't listen to anyone anymore, Nat is so focused on raising Wyatt and working we don't get to hang out like we used to, and even my mother is swamped trying to keep the house in relative peace."

"Taro is really hard on you. Why?"

"I'm supposed to take over the shipping business when he dies."

"Do you want to?"

Elliot lays in silence for a moment, his eyebrows drawing together as he frowns.

"It's my duty as-"

"No. You need to have more confidence in yourself. There is something YOU want. What is it?"

"I…I want to be a doctor…My mother gets sick easily and every time she's ill, Dr. Trent comes over from the mainland to treat her. It always makes it glaringly obvious that there isn't a doctor here. I want to be a doctor, a GREAT doctor! I want to be a doctor that can open a clinic here on the islands so sick or injured people don't have to wait for boats so they can get help! It's been my ambition since we started this town. From the time people started moving here to right now I have always wanted to be the doctor of Sunshine Islands. I just…never went to study…I…"

Rolling on her side Azalea props her head up on her elbow, staring at her friends face.

"Then go study medicine."

"B-But I'm so clumsy! I couldn't-"

"Yes. You could. Frankly, I think it's the stress that's making you clumsy."

"…the stress?"

"Elliot. We just cleaned an entire storehouse. Not once did you trip, run into, or knock over anything."

"I…I didn't?"

"No. You didn't. Do you know why?"

"…It was fun…"

"Have you ever told Taro you want to be a doctor?"

"…No…"

"Taro is a good man. He loves these islands, he loves his business, and he loves his family. But if he doesn't know what you want, then how is he supposed to know pushing you into the shipping business isn't what you want to do with your life?"

"I've tried to tell him…"

"But you always stop before you do or are interrupted?"

"…Yeah…"

"You need more confidence! This is something you want, go out and pursue it!"

"I don't know, Azalea…I don't think I can…"

Sitting up she claps a hand on his shoulder.

"I can't make you do it, Elliot, nor can I do it for you. If this is something you're passionate about, you need to do this yourself."

Standing and brushing the dirt off of her pants she stretches and leaves. It's almost noon, and she needs to get something to eat before she meets with Denny.


	8. FARM DEMONS!

Azalea leans back in the boat, her legs dangling over with her feet in the water. Popper, Denny's little black bird, is perched on her stomach. Apparently, although the bird only usually likes Denny, he had also taken to Azalea. She lets out a little more fishing line from her rod as Denny puts more bait on his own hook.

"Hey, Denny?"

"Yeah?"

"You've been friends with Vaughn for a long time, right?"

"It's been a few years, why do you ask?"

"I guess I just don't understand him. One moment he'll be talking normally and the next he's completely silent and just wants to be left alone."

"He's warming up to you."

"Really?"

"He's a bit slow to warm up when it comes to new people, but if he's holding a conversation with you then you must be doing fine."

"Hmm…ok then. Thanks."

"Why the sudden interest? Are you in looooooooove?"

"What?! Ugh. Shut up."

He laughs, casting his rod into the water.

"Sorry, sorry. I couldn't resist."

"If I wasn't afraid I'd tip the boat, I would have smacked you."

"Tell you what; if you catch more fish than me in the next hour I vow to never make fun of you and my friend again."

"Oh yeah, cause I'll _totally_ win that bet."

"Well I'm not going to challenge you to a crop growing contest, you'd kick my butt!"

Rolling her eyes she pulls a worm out of its canister and throws it at Denny.

"Sweet! Free worm!"

"There's no fazing you, is there?"

"I got something!"

"Already?! You just cast!"

Reeling in his rod Denny lifts his line from the water only to find a set of dentures dangling from the hook. A searing look crosses his eye and he throws the fake set of teeth into an empty box at the front of the boat along with the other garbage they caught.

"This makes me so mad!"

"Are you alright?"

"The ocean is a beautiful, sacred place, but we treat it like a dump! Old shoes, trash, it's disgusting!"

He deflates; falling back against the floor of the boat and making it shift slightly.

"It isn't fair to the ocean…"

Azalea frowns and Popper flies back over to his owner. They fish in silence for a while before Denny speaks again.

"Azalea, do you ever feel like there is someone out there watching over nature?"

"Like the Harvest Goddess or something?"

"Yeah, do you think she exists?"

"I don't know…it would be nice if she did."

"Yeah…it would. Maybe she could fix the oceans."

"When do we need to check on the nets?"

"Eh…I'll give them another hour. That's about the time I need to get you back to shore anyway."

True to his word, after reeling in the nets they head back to the islands. Azalea bids Denny goodbye and hauls her catch home.

After getting the fish in her shipping bin she lets out a loud breath. Now that she'd gotten used to the fish smell it wasn't so bad, but fresh air is still a much better alternative. Trudging over to where her seeds are planted she inspects the earth to make sure everything is in order.

"Lookin' good!"

She jumps, looking around. Unable to find the voice she turns back to her crops, unnerved.

"Yeah, she's pretty good at this!"

"I wonder if we can help her…"

"I don't know! She can't even see us anyway!"

Taking her ho in hand she slowly turns toward the voices in questions. As she stares at the ground two tiny people come into view, both wearing little red outfits.

Pointing at them, she screams.

"WHAT IS THAT?"

"YOU CAN SEE US?"

"OH MY GODESS MY FARM HAS DEMONS ON IT!"

Swinging her ho at them the two shriek and begin running around in circles.

"DON'T HIT US!"

"WE JUST WANTED TO HELP YOU!"

"STOP IT CHELSEA!"

She pauses mid swing, her heart pounding.

"What…What did you call me?"

"Chelsea! We want to help you!"

Panic setting in, she takes a step back.

"No…no no no, you can't know my name!"

"Of course we know it! We're your neighbors! We live on Harvest Sprite Island!"

"Harvest…sprites?"

"Well…you wouldn't know. You couldn't see us until now!"

"Harvest…sprites?!"

"But now you can see us! So we can take you to the island now!"

They start walking towards the beach, and as her eyes follow then she can see a huge bridge made of leaves slowly coming into view. Still dazed and confused she hurries after the little…whatever they are…

Coming up to the bridge she stops once again.

"This can't be happening…this is impossible! I'll fall off my island!"

"No you won't! It's super stable, just take a step!"

"This isn't real…this isn't real…"

 _It's real…_

She feels the hair stand up on the back of her neck as those words ghost through her head. Had she thought that? Had someone else?

Unable to think anymore she takes a deep breath and steps forward, both of her feet firmly on the soft, spongy leaf. Emboldened by this she jogs forward to catch up with the sprites.

"Did I die? Am I dead?"

One little red sprite gives her a strange look, shooting the same look to the other.

"No? You look alive to me."

"I don't understand what's happening…why me?"

"We don't know. Truthfully, we never thought you'd ever be able to see us. The fact that you can is amazing!"

They stop on a larger leaf, a little house to the left and an old, barren field to the right. Although the "island" must be pretty spacious to the tiny sprites, to Azalea it's smaller than most boats she's been on. As she stands there a few more sprites in different colored clothing from the two red ones surround her, chatting excitedly about the fact she can see them now. They are all hushed by one of the red sprites as he (she?) begins to speak.

"Hello, Chelsea. My name is Agete. Do you remember the shrine on Meadow Island?"

"I…yeah, that's where we hold out festivals."

"Yes, that is where I usually am. But today I felt the need to visit your farm for some reason. You see, we need your help."

"Ok…how do I help?"

"You are the only person on this island with any power in you to activate the sunstones. Taro and his family no longer have such power."

"You…talk to Taro?"

"No, not anymore…Although Taro and his family are aware of our existence here, they lost their ability to communicate with us just as they lost their power. But you, Chelsea, have the ability we need. Please, restore the islands."

"I thought I was doing a good job already-"

"No, not the ones you know already, but the ones below the waves."

Azalea laughs and then slowly stops as she scans its face.

"You're serious? I can't bring islands up from the bottom of the sea!"

"A long time ago, a huge earthquake sank the islands, and many sank beneath the waves. We Harvest Sprites built that shrine in memory of the lost islands, but they aren't lost forever! If you can find some magical stones, we can raise the islands!"

"Ok. Hang on a minute. Magic stones? Little invisible sprites on an invisible island I apparently couldn't see until TODAY?!"

"Please, Chelsea! We can't do it without you!"

Overwhelmed with shock Azalea slowly sinks to the ground, sitting on the little leaf.

"I…I don't know if I can…I don't even know how you know my real name! I haven't told that to anyone!"

"You're questioning how the magic, invisible sprites know your real name? Or know you weren't a real farmer when you moved here?"

"…I can see where my logic here is flawed. You know, SINCE THERE ISN'T ANY LOGIC HERE?!"

"Ok, we get it. You have something to hide, but you've been a fantastic farmer since you got here. We have no room to judge. In fact, we really like you Che-"

"Please…don't call me that. My name is Azalea Stone; I'd like to keep it that way. For my sanity at least."

"Done. From here on out, we call you Azalea."

"Ok…ok. So you want me to find magic stones and raise some islands that have been underwater for decades?"

"Yes. Please, if you'd be so kind."

"I don't know why I'm agreeing to this, but yes. I'll help you guys."

"GREAT! Now we just need to find the sunstones!"

"So…where do I get those?"

"…"

"…"

"…We don't know…"

"…Well it couldn't have been THAT easy, I guess…"


End file.
